Welcome (back) to Ohio
by pay-your-hecking-taxes
Summary: Single Dad!Melvin needs a change of scenery, needs to leave the places where everything reminds him of his ex-wife. Taking his daughter, he uproots their lives to escape the memories. When a certain Kei Hutchins befriends her one lonely recess, Minerva Sneedly finds herself learning to love her new home.


Melvin Sneedly could have moved to just about anywhere in the world. He had more than enough brains to prove himself valuable to any tech or engineering firm in the world. He could have stayed, kept his job and Minerva at school.

He'd say that he'd came back to Ohio for some good reason. He missed his parents, or he had better job opportunities, nostalgia .

Could have but wouldn't. How could he stay where the past nine years stared him in the face, a remnant of a past with someone who'd decided they weren't worth keeping in her life? Melvin sought comfort in the familiar, and Ohio was familiar to him. He'd spent almost three decades of his life there, a mix of frustration and overwhelming pride, the knowledge that he knew the state, his hometown like the back of his hand. He'd leave again, someday, go back to where he was more in his element. Melvin didn't know when but he knew the how, and that was what gave him the conviction to go through with this plan.

* * *

The cool warmth of late summer greeted him as he walked out into the Ohio air.

The half formed plan of what he'd do in the future jumbled about in his head, as he walked down the airport sidewalk, his luggage bumping over the small cracks and gaps in the sidewalk.

"Dad, where are we going to live?" Minerva asked, her short legs hurrying to catch up with Melvin. Her tiny wheeled luggage rattled behind her, bouncing, even flipping on its' side once or twice in the process. The young girl bore a strong to her dad, her red hair was a few shades than his, dipped into her eyes, past her own pair of glasses.

"We're going to live with your grandparents until we move into our own house. You will be starting school this fall at the local school here." Melvin informed her, attempting to hail a cab.

The moving truck was already loaded up with their belongings, but they would be unable to start moving in for a few weeks at most. From what he'd heard something had gone bad on the other owner's end, something about jobs. The realtor had assured him they'd be able to move in within a month.

"When can we see the house?" Minerva asked, peering around in curiosity. Men, women and the occasional child drifted past them, like a stream, causing the seven year old to clutch her dad's hand tighter, in fear of being swept away in the crowd. All of them oblivious to the tiresome journey of a single dad and his child forging their own paths through the tangled web of their lives.

"Not until tomorrow, it's been a tiring trip for the both of us." Melvin answered wearily, finally getting into a cab. His back and legs yelled in protest as he sat down yet again. The few hours of reprieve they'd gotten from leaving the plane and dealing with luggage was not nearly enough to get ready for another two hours drive up to Piqua.

The drive was largely quiet with the muffled radio playing from the dashboard and the sounds of other cars, trucks and vans whizzing past them. Melvins' eyes were burning and the boredom and stress of sitting down and going places all day were luring him to close his eyes and sleep. From the corner of his eye, Melvin could see Minerva falling asleep as her head started to bob slowly from side to side. It was funny how Ohio hadn't changed much while he was away. The same concrete and steel buildings sat in the still bright light of the late afternoon sun. He could barely make out people moving around inside through the windows. Parking lots full of cars sped by. Cincinnati was a vast labyrinth of tall, sprawling metal and concrete- a living breathing thing. People moved in and out, like breathes of air from a giant heart. It was glitzy, impressive and crowded.

It carried with it opportunities, money, a chance to shoot up in the world and be someone. It also bore the burden of business, of heartbreak and the chance to lose everything. It was the cities out west, where all the big technology and robotics were on the cutting edge, was growing and bustling where Melvin found a place where he belonged. He'd met many like minded peers, people who understood him. He'd also met…. _her._ A sharp stab of betrayal and longing went through him, forcing Melvin to sit up straight, to look ahead through the windshield, to try and forget.

Ragged breathes, brought the driver's attention to him and the two made brief eye contact, before breaking away.

When they drove over the bridge to head over to the suburbs, Melvin felt relief.


End file.
